LA Game Con connects community college students with industry careers and competitions

Hundreds of students and gaming professionals gathered at Los Angeles Trade Tech-College for LA Game Con, where gaming centered events highlighted the growing role of gaming in higher education and workforce development.

By: Eva Larrabee, Staff Writer

Up to 350 participants showed up to participate in this year’s annual LA Game Con on Saturday. The event featured informational seminars discussing the gaming industry and development, as well as esport tournaments in Valorant, Marvel Rivals, Street Fighter 6 and more.

As the LA Game project lead, Eric Elder, along with the Los Angeles Regional Consortium, brought together hundreds of students and professionals in the gaming community through the convention. They participated in esports competitions, informational panels and cosplay competitions at Los Angeles Trade Technical-College. 

“Our vision is that we are thriving in a vibrant ecosystem of gaming programs and opportunities that organically illuminate pathways,” Elder said in his opening speech.

While panels were running, participants interested in the esports outlook of gaming were able to get together for an open play session before the official esports tournaments began. A dozen screens filled the room while the hosts from the LATTC gaming club yelled out the players' gamer tags to get participants ready for their tournament. 

There were multiple games available for anyone to play during the open play session, such as an F1 simulation and Guitar Hero. Games such as Super Smash Bros, Street Fighter, Marvel Rivals and Valorant were a part of the lineup for the Esports Grand Cup, where individual players competed for up to $300 while teams could win up to $1,000. 

Trade Tech student and recreational gamer Yasmin Castillo shared her excitement for the day.

“It's a really positive vibe here today,” she said. “I'm excited to be in such an active community surrounded by other gamers.” 

Once the panels had wrapped up for the evening, participants were able to bring their favorite character to life in the cosplay competition hosted by Dreambash. A total prize pool of $350 was awarded to the best-dressed contestants.

Away from the bustle of the convention floor, rival colleges faced off in some of esports’ biggest titles. In a tense matchup of Marvel Rivals, East Los Angeles College emerged victorious over West Los Angeles College. The night ended with one final showdown as Santa Monica College claimed the Valorant championship, taking three of five rounds against Los Angeles City College.

Currently, LARC is partnered with 19 community colleges in LA County, working to improve student employment outcomes in the gaming industry. 

The convention opened with a speech from the assistant vice president and chair of LARC, Narineth Makijan, highlighting how important Game Con is in regards to the evolution of education in the industry. Sobia Khan, vice president of academic affairs at City College, credits LARC for its ability to mix the fundamentals of gaming with traditional education and create pathways into professional careers for students. 

Luis Cataldi, the academic advisor at Epic Games, closed the opening remarks by emphasizing the rise of indie gamers and developers and encouraging students to take an entrepreneurial path in their careers. 

Following the speeches, attendees spread throughout the building into multiple breakout session panels. The panels had a mix of topics either relating to student focused concepts or professional outlooks. 

Student tracks consisted of opportunities in Fortnite Creative, careers in video games and student leadership in esports. The professional tracks went over current trends in scholastic esports, monocap and meta humans pipelines in Unreal Engine, and AI animation production and immersive story worldbuilding. 

Presenters for each panel consisted of experts in a large range of fields who all share a passion for the gaming industry.